Pavilion Study Centre

Inspection report for early years provision

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101255 Unique Reference Number 10 August 2007 Inspection date Bridgette Williams Inspector

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Childcare Type of inspection Childminding Type of care

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This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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ABOUT THIS INSPECTION

The purpose of this inspection is to assure government, parents and the public of the quality of childcare and, if applicable, of nursery education. The inspection was carried out under Part XA Children Act 1989 as introduced by the Care Standards Act 2000 and, where nursery education is provided, under Schedule 26 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. This report details the main strengths and any areas for improvement identified during the inspection. The judgements included in the report are made in relation to the outcomes for children set out in the Children Act 2004; the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding; and, where nursery education is provided, the Curriculum guidance for the foundation stage. The report includes information on any complaints about the childcare provision which Ofsted has received since the last inspection or registration or 1 April 2004 whichever is the later.

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The key inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Good: this aspect of the provision is strong Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is sound Inadequate: this aspect of the provision is not good enough

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The key inspection judgements and what they mean

For more information about early years inspections, please see the booklet Are you ready for your inspection? which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE

The quality and standards of the care are good. The registered person meets the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The childminder was registered in 2000. She lives with her husband and their two children. Their home is a semi-detached house in the Bishop's Cleeve area of Cheltenham. The whole of the house is available for childminding purposes and there is an enclosed garden available for outside play. There are shops and local amenities within walking distance. The childminder offers care throughout the year on a full- or part-time basis. Children attend a local parent-and-toddler group and are taken on regular outings to nearby places of interest, such as the library.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children are developing the skills and knowledge to enable them to develop a healthy lifestyle. They enjoy getting regular daily fresh air through playing outside and going for walks in all weather conditions. Children understand the importance of being healthy as they routinely ask for healthy snacks and enjoy participating in their healthy eating project, for example, planting seeds and transferring them to the family's allotment to watch the produce grow. Children

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Helping children to be healthy

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 benefit from drink being readily available and they freely ask for more drink if necessary; younger children enjoy cuddles while drinking their bottled milk.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children's risk of cross infection is minimised as the childminder has good hygiene practices in place. By implementing a sickness policy the childminder ensures that children are protected from illness and infection. However, the policy does not state for the regulator to be informed of any food poisoning or notifiable diseases. Children can be cared for in an emergency as the childminder has a current first aid certificate and a well stocked first aid box, coupled with effective systems in place to record accidents and the administration of medication, ensuring good consistent care for the children.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children play happily in a clean bright environment. The childminder ensures safety in the home and regular checks take place to identify and minimise risks, allowing children to move around safely, freely and independently. Children access and choose from a wide range of toys, which the childminder carefully monitors and supervises. This is to make sure that they are safe and appropriate for their age and stage of development. Children benefit from having free access to the outside with the exit being made safe for the young children to move freely and play in a fully enclosed garden, however, small areas of ivy are growing in the garden. The childminder regularly checks the smoke detectors, an evacuation plan is in place and the children practice the fire drill. Children sleep according to their individual needs and are regularly checked when sleeping. Children's sleeping patterns are shared with parents in their daily diary.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are well protected from abuse or neglect as the childminder has a clear understanding of signs and symptoms of abuse which means she is able to identify any concerns. The clear policies are shared with parents and she is aware of her responsibilities for safe guarding children and to refer any concerns. The policy is in line with the Local Safe Guarding Children's Board.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is outstanding. The childminder uses different criteria to initiate her planning. She considers children's individual needs, stages of development and their interests. She uses different stimuli to introduce the different activities, from reading books to changes in the weather. The childminder creates excellent displays that are bright, stimulating, informative and provide lovely opportunities for the children to use as a catalyst to continue learning independently. For example, one child sat in front of the fruit poster using it as a reference to match pieces of toy fruits. All ages of children contribute to the displays creating a variety of sections covering different activities they have been involved in, such as, a healthy eating section, photographs illustrating their trip out happily and confidently feeding animals, and a child's small diary demonstrating how they all managed to cope with the floods in their local community.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children thrive from being involved in a vast range of activities both in the home and from the carefully selected outings they go on. In contrast to the exciting trips to farm parks and socialising in larger groups with many children they enjoy time relaxing independently, choosing from a wide range of toys that are stored accessibly in draws and on shelves. Children choose where they may like to play with their chosen activity and truly become involved. For example, one child chooses to play outside, he happily asks for his bucket to be filled with water and invites the childminder to come and play. He uses a paint brush to paint pictures on the floor

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 with the water and the childminder asks questions to extend the learning experience, such as 'shall we make a shape?', the child responds ' look I have made a circle'. The activity extends into painting a house, then progresses onto seeing how he can paint real objects, such as the window frames and the toy house. Finally, the water play involves using a larger container to play with boats and seeing how fast he can move the boat through the water. Through the wide range of experiences the children gain from the different environments, they are provided with all round experiences to develop their physical, personal, social and emotional skills.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children gain an understanding of the wider world through topic work and looking at different festivals such as Diwali and the Chinese New Year. They learn about their local community as they visit places of interest, such as the library and parks. Children have time to relax as well as be active; the children feel at home and at ease in the well organised home, which means they are confident to initiate and extend their own learning. Children are well behaved and aware of the boundaries and the house rules.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Effective links with parents help to ensure consistent care is given. Feedback is provided daily both verbally and in a written diary informing parents what activities their children have been involved in, how much they have eaten and their sleeping patterns. Clear precise policies are shared with parents, there is a complaints procedure in place and parents are informed of the regulator by a poster on the notice board.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. The childminder is well prepared, enthusiastic and provides a good quality of care. The space available is organised to allow the children to be independent, freely choose their own activities and have time to relax. The childminder is highly motivated to attend training and to enhance children's learning. Documentation is well organised, regularly updated and shared with parents at all times. Records are very neat and confidentially stored. The childminder meets the needs of the range of children for whom she provides.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last the last inspection the childminder was asked to record the actual times of arrival and departure in the daily register and this has been effectively addressed.

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Complaints since the last inspection

Since the last inspection there have been no complaints made to Ofsted that required the provider or Ofsted to take any action in order to meet the National Standards.

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Complaints since the last inspection

The provider is required to keep a record of complaints made by parents, which they can see on request. The complaints record may contain complaints other than those made to Ofsted.

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Complaints since the last inspection

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE

The quality and standards of the care are good. The registered person meets the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding.

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The quality and standards of the care

To improve the quality and standards of care further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s): • extend child sickness policy to include information of the notifiable diseases required to be notified to Ofsted.

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The quality and standards of the care

set out in the leaflet Complaints about Ofsted Early Years: concerns or complaints about Ofsted's role in regulating and inspecting childcare and early education (HMI ref no 2599) which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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The quality and standards of the care

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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